“I congratulate all Egyptians on the occasion of the Feast of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, which we celebrate tomorrow, Thursday, the sixteenth of Mesra (August 22). Egyptians, both Muslims and Christians, love Virgin Mary immensely and profoundly. She holds a great place and honor in both the Bible and the Quran. Wise Solomon says of her: “Many daughters have done well, But you excel them all.” And in the Quran, it is said: “And [mention] when the angels said, ‘O Mary, indeed, Allah has chosen you and purified you and chosen you over the women of the worlds.'” The Blessed Virgin Mary is the one who received blessings from heaven when the angel announced to her in the Bible: “Rejoice, highly favored one; blessed are you among women!” And in the Quran: “So, We breathed into her of Our spirit and made her and her son a sign for the worlds.”
As for the occasion of this feast, it dates back to events after the repose (death) of the Blessed Virgin Mary. When the disciples of Jesus Christ – except for the Apostle Thomas who was preaching in India at that time – hastened to bury her pure body in a worthy grave prepared for her. During the return of the Apostle Thomas from preaching in India, he saw the angels carrying the body of the Blessed Virgin Mary ascending to heaven. When he met the other apostles and asked them about her, they informed him of her repose, so he asked to see the place of her burial. When they took him there, they did not find the blessed body, and they were filled with astonishment. Then the Apostle Thomas began to tell them his vision of the body being carried by angels to heaven. The apostles desired to see that holy sight, so they fasted and prayed to God to grant them that blessing. After fifteen days, God showed them her body and they were blessed by it.
The life of the Blessed Virgin Mary is full of many virtues. But one of the most important characteristics of her pure life is the power of faith that she lived from her childhood and in every moment of her life. She had complete trust in God and absolute certainty in His works. This faith is clearly seen in the angel’s announcement to her as it is mentioned in the Bible…‘And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call His name Jesus. He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Most High; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David. And He will reign over the house of Jacob forever; and of His kingdom there will be no end. Then Mary said to the angel, “How can this be, since I am a virgin?” And the angel answered and said to her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore, also, that Holy One who is born of you will be called the Son of God. Now behold, your relative Elizabeth, she has also conceived a son in her old age; and this is now the sixth month for her who was called barren, for with God nothing will be impossible.” And Mary said, “Behold the maidservant of the Lord! Let it be to me according to your word.” And the angel departed from her.’
The Annunciation that the blessed Virgin Mary received was unique, unparalleled, and will never be repeated in any era. Despite the magnitude of this message, she accepted it with complete submission, utmost humility, and full faith and surrender, saying: “Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word.” Divine revelation confirms the blessed Virgin Mary’s faith and the beauty of her humility, as it revealed her eagerness, upon receiving the heavenly message, to go to the mountains, regardless of any hardship, towards the city of Judah, to stay with the house of ‘Zechariah the priest’, determined to serve her pregnant cousin, ‘Elizabeth’. As soon as Elizabeth heard her greeting, her baby leaped in her womb! She exclaimed: ‘Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb! And why is this granted me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? For behold, when the sound of your greeting came to my ears, the baby leaped for joy in my womb! And blessed is she who believed that what was spoken to her from the Lord would be fulfilled.’ The blessed Virgin Mary’s faith-filled stance is also unforgettable when she instructed the servants at the wedding in Cana to do whatever Jesus told them, affirming with complete conviction: “Whatever He tells you, do it” The faithful life blessed Virgin Mary led was the result of an angelic life she practiced in her childhood, as she lived close to the temple at the age of three, immersed in a life of prayer and contemplation, relying on God and His grace all her days. Thus, with her pure and strong faith in adulthood, she deserved to receive the blessings of heaven and even become a second heaven!
Many happy returns! We ask God to preserve our beloved country “Egypt” and its people from all evil, with the blessing of her who visited it with her Holy Family, seeking refuge in it, thus spreading blessing upon its land forever.
Stories in Beautiful Egypt are endless…
The General Bishop
Head of the Coptic Orthodox Cultural Center
